Resurrection
by denise1
Summary: It's scifi, no one ever really stays dead


Resurrection

By

Denise

Knowing that his landing was going to be a rough one, Colonel Jack O'Neill did his best to pull himself into a ball and roll across the damp stone floor. It still hurt and he knew he'd still have bruises in all sorts of interesting places but at least it was only bruises. "Thank you," he quipped at the slamming door. "Everyone all right? he asked the members of his team

"Yeah."

"I am unharmed O'Neill."

"Fine sir."

Jack had a quick moment of relief, and then pushed himself up on his elbows taking a quick glance around the cell. It was all too similar to any one of the dozens he and his team had been in over the years. He was pleased to notice Carter and Teal'c were already walking the walls, looking for a weakness. "Daniel, what the hell did you say?" he asked in exasperation.

"What I say on every planet," he replied holding out his hand to help Jack up. "Hi. I'm Daniel Jackson. We're peaceful explorers from earth," he repeated.

"You should think about changing it," Jack said, gaining his feet and brushing off the seat of his pants. "Keeps getting us tossed in cages." The two men walked over to join Sam & Teal'c in their survey. "Well, if you didn't say something, maybe we did something?" Jack continued.

"We really didn't have time to DO anything sir," Sam said.

"I concur with Major Carter's assessment. I perceived no slight upon the indigenous peoples," Teal'c stated.

Everything was fine right up until Daniel introduced us," Sam said with a shrug.

"You got any unpaid parking tickets around here?" Jack asked Teal'c.

The large black man quirked his eyebrow. "I have never been on this planet before O'Neill," he stated evenly, well used to interpreting his friend's speech.

"None of us have sir. Which makes this even weirder. They got all unfriendly as soon as Daniel introduced us…"

"Almost as though they were looking for us or something," Daniel finished thoughtfully.

"This being famous is really starting to suck," Jack groused. "Well," he clapped his hands together. "What say we get out of this little mess?" A clanging at the door caused the quartet to turn expectantly. "Or we can meet the neighbors," he quipped, his face settling into a serious mask. They closed ranks hoping for a chance to escape and preparing for the worst.

Nothing however could have prepared them for the figure that entered their cell flanked by four burley guards.

Daniel took one look at their captor and shot Sam a concerned glance. There was a look of shock upon her face he hoped never to see again. He reached out a surreptitious hand and grabbed her arm in what he hoped was a reassuring grip. Although from the look on her face he doubted she even felt his gesture.

The leader walked into he room and stood there silently, staring at each one of them in turn. "Why Samantha my dear, you look like you've seen a ghost," Lantash drawled a small arrogant smile on his face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daniel sat with his back against the wall, watching Jack pace. He'd been at it for the better part of an hour, ever since Martouf had taken Sam away. "She'll be OK," he said, more to reassure himself than his friend. The colonel paused in his pacing to shoot Daniel a look. "You've said it yourself, she can take care of herself."

"With your normal run of the mill megalomaniac goa'uld sure. But with mister night of the living dead…" Jack stated knowing full well Martouf's death was something the major hadn't totally dealt with. And now having him back alive and well…"Nobody touched a mirror or anything?" he asked abruptly

"Jack?"

"We're sure this is our universe here right? This isn't some alternate reality or whatever?"

"Although I can not be certain I detected no such phenomena as we experienced in the other parallel universes," Teal's stated.

"I agree with Teal'c. This is our reality…for better or worse."

"Ok. Then...shouldn't Marty be pushing up daisies by now? We helped put his corpse in a bag. He was dead…d…e…d… dead," Jack insisted.

"As was Apophis and even yourself at one time," Teal'c stated.

"So was I actually…."

"Ya know this really bugs me."

"What?"

"For years it's been death and taxes…the two things you can count on…"

"So?"

"So now all that's left is taxes and it sucks," Jack exclaimed. A rattling at the door caused all three men to gain their feet. They tensed as the door swung open. Two of the guards stepped in, zats at the ready. If their presence wasn't enough to quell any thoughts of escape the arrival of the other two guards was. They were dragging a limp form, which they dropped to the floor and walked away from.

Mindful of the zats, the trio restrained themselves until the door was shut to rush forward to aid their friend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam slowly became aware of a warm softness beneath her head. A softness that contrasted sharply with the cold hardness she was lying on. Rather uncomfortably she decided as she shifted a bit to relieve a cramp. Something she immediately regretted as it sparked waves of pain through her skull.

"Sam?" she heard as she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. That voice, she knew that voice. She just had to put a name to it. "Sam?" the voice said again, this time giving her shoulder a small shake. Oh yeah. Now she remembered.

"Daniel?" she whispered.

"Yeah. You ok?" he asked quietly, his voice full of concern.

She tried to open her eyes but immediately let them fall closed to control the vertigo that threatened to overwhelm her. "Sorta," she whispered, making no move to sit up. It may be wounding her pride a bit to use Daniel's lap as a pillow but right now it was a far better alternative to hurling all over him.

"Carter…what happened?" she heard Colonel O'Neill ask quietly, feeling a slight disturbance in the air as he moved close.

She struggled to find a way to put the events of the last couple of hours into a precise statement. "He aah…he's mad at us." Little simplistic, but it'd do.

"I didn't think Marty got mad," Jack said as she slowly opened her eyes, relieved to discover the room had stopped spinning and was now just…wavering a bit.

"It's not Martouf, it's Lantash," she said, pushing herself up. She gave Daniel a grateful look as he kept a supporting hand at her back.

"Marty, Lantash, what's the difference?"

"There's a difference. Martouf is…was more open minded than Lantash. Lantash is…a little ethnocentric," she said flashing back to the impassioned lecture the symbiote had given them over Apophis.

"What did he want?" Jack asked seriously. Debating over the merits of either Martouf or Lantash could wait; their priority was to get the hell out of here, preferably alive.

"Payback," she said simply.

"For what?"

Sam sighed. "Martouf may have…Lantash didn't agree with…what Martouf asked me to do…" she said her voice choking with repressed emotion.

"Umm…since we're in the subject. How DID he come back from the dead?" Daniel asked.

"Anise had something to do with it."

"Let me guess. Tok'ra spice had a sarcophagus?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"That's what he said," Sam confirmed.

"Did he spill anything else in a fit of megalomaniac rambling?"

Sam shook her head, lying by omission. He had said more. Much more. Things she didn't want to remember. All sorts of horrible hurtful things. Threats and promises she couldn't believe.

Even now the hatred in his voice was haunting. She'd never been hated before. Not like this. Sure she'd been disliked, distrusted and probably just tolerated but never the object of complete and total hatred.

She'd seen it in his eyes every time he'd activated the ribbon device. Every time he took pleasure in her pain.

And she knew there was no way that he'd ever let them go.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack looked up as Teal'c silently left his post by the door and sat beside him on the floor.

"Still on schedule?"

Teal'c nodded. "The guards change every two hours with a patrol down the corridor every one half hour. They are very well trained," he said ironically.

"If I had my way they'd be lazy bums that dozed off on the job."

"It is most likely Lantash informed them of our capabilities."

"That damned reputation again. What do you think his plans are?"

"I believe it is as Major Carter reported. Lantash desires revenge."

Jack nodded and looked across the room at Sam who was sleeping curled up on her side with her head back in Daniel's lap. If revenge was what Lantash had in mind, of all of them he and Carter had given him ample reason.

And he had a funny feeling more had happened during her absence than some casual torture. For better or worse she and Marty had history. Thanks to Jolinar, centuries of history. A dozen decades of memories and feelings the snake could use against her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam lay still, feigning sleep listening to the colonel and Teal'c talk. They were right. It was going to be difficult if not impossible to escape from here. Lantash knew them too well to underestimate them. He knew their greatest strength was also their greatest weakness. He would use them, one against the other. And when he was done playing with them he would turn his sights to earth and the people he perceived as contributing to his death, and causing Jolinar's.

She'd been trying to think of a way, any way to get out of this. Unfortunately she kept arriving at the same conclusion…a solution her friends weren't going to like.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daniel felt Sam shift a bit and looked down automatically wondering if she was waking up or merely caught in another dream. She had been restless all night. Partly he knew from the pain caused by Martouf's…Lantash's ribbon device. But he knew some of the pain was also emotional. Killing Martouf had been hard for her. There had been a haunted look in her eyes that had just been beginning to fade. "Sam?" he asked quietly.

"You awake?"

"Yeah," she replied, pushing herself up slowly.

"How's your head?"

"Fine," she lied.

"Well you're lucky. I think I had a headache for a week last time."

Sam gave him a wry grin. "OK. I wouldn't turn down an aspirin or ten. Don't suppose I missed the bell boy with breakfast?" she asked, knowing the answer.

"I think it's the serve yourself style around here," Jack said.

"Knew I should have had a bigger lunch" she quipped quietly. "Colonel, I have an idea."

"Tell me you snuck some C-4 in your pocket and I'll get Hammond to let you soup your bike up with one of your reactors."

Sam grinned at the thought of a Naquadah enriched cycle. Actually it wasn't a bad idea. Just a few ounces could power her bike for weeks. Noiseless, emission free…She shook her head slightly to pull herself back to the present. "No sir. I was thinking. Maybe I can reason with him."

"Lantash? Excuse me but he doesn't seem too reasonable."

"Martouf," she corrected.

"You told us Marty was gone," Jack reminded wondering for a second just how scrambled her brains were.

"Suppressed but not gone. Something of the host survives. He's in there somewhere. If I can reach him I know he'll let us go."

"And if you can not?" Teal'c asked, not sharing the major's faith.

"Maybe I'll find a way out."

Jack looked from Sam to Daniel, seeing that the archaeologist shared his skepticism. At one point Daniel thought he could reason with Shau'ri and look how that turned out. Then again, they weren't exactly overwhelmed by choices either. "Yeah. Just watch yourself. I have a funny feeling Marty's going to be harder to find than you think he'll be."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam meekly let the guards lead her into Lantash's chamber. Fighting wasn't going to accomplish much more than getting herself injured and anyway her head hurt too much to put up a fight.

They gave her a little push, which forced her to stumble a bit as she crossed the threshold. She heard them back away and the door close as she kept her gaze on her 'host'.

He was sprawled in a chair his feet propped casually on the tabletop a goblet clutched negligently in one hand. She tried not to flinch at the sight of the ribbon device on his left hand.

"Samantha, you must be famished. Please sit," he drawled gesturing for her to come close with the goblet, sending a few drops of ruby liquid splashing over the edge.

Sam cautiously crossed the room and seated herself across from him, the distance of the laden table giving her a measure of security. She looked at Martouf…no Lantash, she reminded herself. She was dealing with Lantash.

At his expectant look she picked up a piece of bread and tore off a small bite. She forced herself to eat it slowly. It had been over twenty-four hours since they'd left the SGC and she was more than a little hungry.

Lantash watched her a small frown on his face as she quietly ate. "What? No defiant speeches? No demands for explanations?"

Sam shook her head. "Why bother. All it will do is get me tossed back into that cell."

"True but…you have always preferred the company of your friends to mine."

"Lantash, I live with these guys day in and day out. I saw you three times in a year. Who do you think I feel more comfortable with? Besides Martouf's puppy dog eyes have always gotten on my nerves," she finished with a shrug.

"I possess Martouf's eyes," he said, taking a sip from his goblet.

"They're…different when you're in control. More appealing."

"Really?" Lantash asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"Oh. Don't get me wrong.  I liked Martouf fine it's just…well ever since the ash'rak killed Jolinar…killed me…every time I'm with a blended person I just…I have flashbacks to…There are times as much as I love my dad it's hard to be around him and sense Selmac."

"But now? What has changed?"

"I finally realized we'll never win. We can't beat the Goa'uld. In fact all we've done is make them stronger. Ra is dead, so is Hathor, Seth, probably Heru'ur and Sokar. Nirti's territory was divided between Cronos and Yu making them stronger. Osiris is loose among the stars and thanks to us Apophis now has the biggest army in the universe. Hell if we keep this up much longer we might as well just invite Apophis over and surrender."

"I thought the Tau'ri were committed to the fight?"

"The Tau'ri maybe, just not me…not anymore. I'm sick of getting shot at, of working my ass off for people that don't even remember to say thank you. Earth is in so far over its head it'll be a miracle if they make it. I figure my best chance to survive is to find a nice quiet planet, make myself a home and lay low until it all blows over," she finished with a shrug, picking up a piece of fruit and taking a careful bite.

Lantash gave her a contemplative look and she forced herself not to react. As near as she figured it she had a tiny advantage. Thanks to Jolinar she had some idea how he'd react, and despite his wishful thinking, she was nothing like Jolinar or Rosha.

He stood up and walked over to her. She clenched her hand around the arm of the chair to keep herself from shying away as he raised his left hand. She must not have hidden the fear and remembered pain because he grinned slightly, taking obvious pleasure in her discomfort. "I will not hurt you," he said softly, running his fingers through her hair. "I only did so before because you were bad."

"What did I do that was so bad?" she asked quietly, forcing herself to keep looking down.

She put another piece of fruit in her mouth and chewed despite the fact that she felt distinctly ill. A year with Jonus had taught her that much. Never let them think you care. It just gives them ammunition to use against you.

"You cut your hair," he said, ignoring her question.

"It was cut for me. We were off world, something got in it and it got all tangled up."

"You should grow it out. You'd look even more beautiful with longer hair. Maybe down to your shoulders," he suggested, running his hand over the back of her neck.

'Just like Rosha,' she thought, pushing herself out of the chair and walking across the room. She looked out the small window. They were in an upper level, perhaps 20-30 feet up. Maybe she could jump but the chances of landing in one piece were pretty slim.

She heard Lantash come up behind her. "Something is wrong," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"My head hurts," she complained.

"I am sorry. I…I was angry when I first saw you."

"Angry?"

"Samantha, you killed me," he said as if lecturing a child.

She pulled out of his arms and turned to face him. "I did what you asked me to."

"No. You did what Martouf asked."

"Since when is there a difference?"

"I was circumventing the zatarc programming. That is why Martouf was dominant. I was nearly successful when you killed us," he said angrily.

"Well how was I to know that?" Sam asked, hoping he was lying.

"You could have waited."

"Mar…Lantash," she corrected quickly at his angry glare. "He was seconds away from blowing the two of you up. I couldn't let that happen."

"Do you know what you did?" he asked, his eyes flaring. "The zatnikatel did not kill me. I was trapped in a lifeless body; aware but unable to do anything. I could not leave Martouf. I was too weak. No one knew I was there, that I was alive. I was trapped there for days while they experimented on me, cut me open, dissected me like an animal for the slaughter. They stood over me, discussing me as if I was not there, but I was. I was aware. I could hear. I heard every comment, every remark. I heard them dividing up my possessions.  I could feel the coldness of the preservation chamber. Every time they cut away parts of me I FELT it. I was still there slowly starving to death and no one noticed. No one cared. If it hadn't have been for Anise's little rebellious streak I would have died there."

"What did she do?" Sam asked softly wondering what information could be coveted enough for the woman to go against everything the Tok'ra believed in to resurrect him.

"I did not rot," he said bitterly. "She got curious. So in the dead of night she took me away. Told them she was taking me home but instead she brought me here, used the sarcophagus..."

"It must have been horrible," she whispered finding it all too easy to know what it was like to be a prisoner in your own body.

"No. Not horrible," he shook his head emphatically. "It was fantastic. I was free. I know now what we have been missing. The council is wrong, it does not make you weak, it makes you strong," he exclaimed a look of longing in his eyes.

"No. No it doesn't. It makes you weak."

"NO!" he yelled, making her flinch.

"Lantash, listen to yourself. You're chained to this place. You won't leave because you don't want to leave it behind. That's dependence."

"NO."

"Yes," Sam insisted. "Are you going to spend the rest of your life here? Sooner or later the Tok'ra will hear about you. They'll come here. What will you do then? Kill your friends?"

"I will move on. I will instruct the natives to carry it for me through the Stargate until I can find a ship," he said with a negligent shrug.

"Oh. So you'll have an entourage now. How very Goa'uld of you," Sam said bitterly.

With a brilliant flare of his eyes Lantash lashed out and struck Sam, sending her to the

floor. "I AM NOT GOA'ULD!" he screamed.

"Then prove it," she demanded, wiping away a bit of blood from where he'd split her lip. "Let my friends go."

"No."

"Let them go and let me stay here."

Lantash paused, her request surprising him. "What?"

Sam looked up at him and sighed. "I meant it when I said I was tired of fighting. I want somewhere to stay somewhere safe. Somewhere where I don't have to be on my guard all the time, where I can just relax and enjoy myself. But…you have to let them go. You know the colonel, he'll never give up," Sam said earnestly, looking up at him with pleading eyes. At least that's how her father had described them.

He gazed down at her, a familiar arrogance on his face. She held her breath, afraid for a moment that she'd overplayed her hand.

"You want to stay with me?" he asked, kneeling beside her, raising his hand to cup her cheek.

"Yeah," she said quietly, "If that's ok I mean."

Lantash smiled and drew her into his arms. "It will be like before. There is so much I can show you. So many wonders in the universe." Sam wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes for a second as she remembered Jolinar being held this way so many times before. With a brief unspoken apology she threaded the fingers of her left hand through his hair, drawing his head down to her shoulder. She then flung out her right arm and brought it back, slamming her fist against the back of his neck, a blow guaranteed to stun if not kill the symbiote within.

Lantash collapsed against her and she pushed him to the floor.

She clambered to her feet and began to quickly search the room. Their weapons had to be here. Lantash was far too paranoid to let them out of his sight.

One chest in the corner was locked. It had to be the one. Seeing she couldn't pick the lock she grabbed a knife off the table and began to work on the hinges.

Within minutes the box was open and Sam quickly pulled her vest on. Just as her fingertips touched her rifle a cruel hand pulled her back and spun her around. She came face to face with the hate filled eyes of Lantash. "Jolinar never could do that right," he sneered, wrapping his hands around her throat.

Sam tried to fight but soon realized she was no match against Lantash's superior power.

"I should have known you would betray me. She did. But you never will again," he promised, squeezing harder. "I will not free your friends. The bounty for them is far too great. I will auction them off to the highest bidder…but you I will keep. You will be mine, mine to destroy over and over again." He punctuated each word with a tiny shake. Sam felt herself start to die, ominous black dots dancing across her vision. Using her last bit of coordination she pushed desperate fingers into her vest pocket. They wrapped around an all too familiar shape. She drew it out and forced her left hand to cooperate and pull the pin.

Lantash looked down, sensing her movement. She saw realization dawn as she popped off the lever, making the grenade unstoppable. She felt a tiny flash of triumph as the world exploded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Daniel glanced at Teal'c then looked back to a furiously pacing Jack. Sam had been gone nearly an hour and he didn't really know if it was a good sign.

Despite what she thought, he really had no idea just how much of Martouf was left. As much as the Tok'ra had seemed to adore Sam, it sure hadn't stopped Lantash from nearly frying her brain. He had a horrible feeling she was in way over her head.

"O'Neill, your activity accomplishes nothing," Teal'c said, breaking the silence of the chamber.

Jack paused in his pacing to give the Jaffa a harsh glare. "At least I'm doing something," he said peevishly.

"Yes. You are tiring yourself and consuming energy in an activity that accomplishes nothing. In fact your pacing may hinder any efforts we make to escape if you are too exhausted to continue," Teal'c said evenly.

"He's…got a point," Daniel interjected seeing an all too familiar stubborn look cross Jack's face.

"Oh great. Now you're ganging up on me," Jack complained, walking towards them and dropping to the floor.

"She's a big girl. She can take care of herself," Daniel repeated, earning him a glare from the colonel. "Well someone had to say it."

"Yeah I know," Jack agreed, leaning his head back against the wall.

They sat there silently, each lost in their own thoughts, their mental images of what might be happening to their friend torturing them worse than anything Lantash could have come up with.

"Someone comes," Teal'c said quietly, causing Jack to open his eyes. Both he and Daniel scrambled to their feet as a key scraped in the lock.

By an unspoken arrangement they split up, spreading themselves out. The door opened and an armed zat preceded a hooded figure that slipped into the room and closed the door behind him. The trio shared glances at their visitor's odd behavior. Jack stepped forward. "Aah hello…you new around here?"

Scanning the room the figure lowered the zat and pulled back the hood. "Ya know Jack, this is becoming a habit," Jacob said.

"Jacob. Thank God."

"Where's Sam?" Jacob asked, his face turning serious at his daughter's absence.

"She's…talking to Lantash," Daniel said quietly.

"What?" Jacob asked angrily. At that moment they heard a muffled explosion. Jacob and Jack looked to each other for confirmation. Both recognized the sound of a grenade.

"Here," Jacob said, tossing Jack the zat and drawing out his hand device. "I know which chamber he's using."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam slowly opened her eyes simultaneously not surprised to see small tears in the jacket covered arm by her face and surprised to realize she was still alive to see things. She shouldn't be. She'd seen the effects of grenades on the human body. Just being within ten feet of the explosive was usually enough to guarantee life threatening if not fatal injuries. Not her preferred way to die but…Lantash…that last second before the explosion, him pushing her away.

She carefully levered herself up; relieved to discover most everything appeared to be in working order. She forced herself to look at Lantash. From this angle she couldn't see much but from the sheer amount of blood pooling around his still form he had to be dead.

Right?

Belatedly remembering even if Lantash was dead, the report from the grenade would likely draw some rather unwelcome attention from the locals she unsteadily got to her feet and made her way to the chest containing their confiscated weapons. She had to get down to the guys and get them out of there. As she slipped the strap of her rifle over her head she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Taking a quick glance to make sure Lantash was still dead she hurried to the bed and crouched behind it. As she heard the door ease open she mentally crossed her fingers. Maybe nobody would notice her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack silently followed Jacob through the doorway. He saw Daniel fall into place behind him while Teal'c positioned himself at the door. The room was a decent size with a few chests scattered along the wall, an up turned table in the middle and a large bed against the far wall. Jack paused by the table, and examined the spilled food. It was slightly shriveled and covered by settling dust but still fresh. Someone had been here not too long ago.

He glanced at Jacob who was checking the body, or what was left of it. A quick shake of the older man's head confirmed the man's death.

Jack rounded the end of the bed and came to a sudden stop as he caught sight of a bloody and battered major, her rifle aimed unerringly at his head. "Whoa Carter," he said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Colonel," she gasped out, lowering her rifle and slumping visibly.

"I hope we're not interrupting anything," Jack said, he and Daniel helping their friend up off the floor and onto the edge of the bed.

"Actually I was just coming to get you, see if you wanted to leave early," Sam said, more than a little relieved to have her friends at her side. "Lantash?"

"Dead. They're both dead," Jacob said stepping over to Sam.

"Dad? What are…when did?"

"Anise made it back. She told us what she'd done. I came here to stop Lantash and ended up rescuing you guys," Jacob said, sitting beside her on the bed. "How are you?" he asked pointedly, taking in the darkening bruises on her throat and several small cuts.

Sam shook her head. "I'm ok. He…pushed me away. I just caught the edge of it," she said, averting her eyes from the body.

"Um…anyone else think we should get out of here before anymore of Anise's experiments show up?" Daniel asked. So far they'd all been pretty lucky. And there was no need to push it.

"All our stuff's over there," Sam said, pointing towards the chest.

"Sweet," Jack replied, crossing the room and pulling stuff out. Daniel helped him distribute their gear. "I hate all the paperwork I have to fill out when we lose things."

With her dad at her side, Sam got to her feet and joined her friends at the door. Jack looked past her to the remains of Lantash. "Aah…Jacob. Shouldn't we do something?" he said, motioning vaguely at the body.

"Sam?" Jacob asked.

She looked over his shoulder. "Just make it go away," she pled quietly, turning away. Jack silently handed Jacob the zat and led his team from the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam shut her locker, looking askance at the pile of battered material at her feet. Another uniform destined for the rag pile. With all her luck they'd start charging her for all the uniforms she went through.

It was over. Lantash…Martouf were dead. Irrevocably dead. He was finally at peace. She had to accept that. He and Rosha and Lantash and Jolinar were finally together. She could close the book on that chapter of her life. Turn a new page, start fresh, flip over a new leaf…and a dozen other cliches.

A knock at the door drew her attention. "Sam. You decent?"

"Yeah Daniel, it's ok," she said, kicking the pile of clothes into the corner.

Daniel peeked cautiously around the door, even after all these years still respecting her privacy. "They're aah…they're ready to start the debrief," he said, entering the room. Ever since they'd gotten back the guys had kept their distance, not asking what really happened in the room. Although she knew they were dying to know. She could see it in their faces.

"Ok," she said, starting to walk by him.

He held out his arm to stop her. "You ok?" he asked sincerely.

Sam smiled faintly. "Yeah. He's aah…he's at peace."

"Killing him…again couldn't have been easy."

"No. It wasn't. But…"

"He's at peace," he finished.

"Yeah."

"Like Shau'ri."

She gave him a sharp look. "Yeah," she said softly.

"So you gonna be ok?" he asked again.

"I will be," she said, "I will be."

Fin


End file.
